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East (1-1, 1-1), No. 3 in Class 6A, got big help from Jalen Love in the first half as Ja'ln Williams was forced to sit after picking up his second foul two minutes into the game.

Love scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half as East took control. East led 6-4 early in the first quarter and then the defense turned it up.

East went on a 15-0 run to end the first quarter and made 10 of 17 shots while South's offense went idle.

The Titans had six turnovers, missed all four shots and even after getting into the bonus at the free-throw line, the Titans couldn't score.

"They did a good job defensively, but at times we did a good job of making them look pretty good throwing the ball all over the place, too," South coach Steve Lilly said. "We have to be a team that has more discipline with the basketball and refuses to turn the ball over."

Even when South beat the press, the constant pressure and the zone defense suffocated South's Tony Buchanan inside.

But South had a chance to make up some ground at the free-throw line. Buchanan went to the line 10 times, but made one. South made 9 of 25 free-throw attempts.

"A lot of free-throw shooting is stepping up to the line with confidence and willing those things in and we have to do a better job of that," Lilly said.

After sitting most of the first half, Williams took control of the second half and scored 18 of his game-high 20 points.

"I really felt good about Ja'ln, he had a tough first half and I sat him for quite a while, but in the third and fourth he really got a chance to open up and play good," Allen said. "He's the leader for us."